How to Save a Life
by LoveNotesAndLies
Summary: Edward went back for Bella, but only found her grave. He thinks she's dead and writes a best selling book. Bella's been changed, and she reads it and goes to find him. Full summary inside!
1. New Moon

**A/N: This is 50 years after Edward left Bella. The wolves had been too late when it came to Laurent's attack, and Bella's a vampire. She's been living on her own this whole time. She keeps hearing about a best selling book by Edward Masen, and decides to read it. I used the title **_**New Moon**_** because I'm too unoriginal to come up with something creative, haha. Review, Review, Review! It's the only way I'll know if I should keep going. I don't think anyone else has done this story before. Or at least, I've never read one like it. **

**BPOV. **

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns everything.**

"The top selling book, _New Moon_, by Edward Masen continues to hold its number one spot on the NY Times best sellers list! It's a novel about a man who has to leave his love to keep her safe, and needs to make her think that he doesn't love her in the process. When he goes back to her years later, all he finds is a grave," the TV blared across the room. "It's a heart-wrenching story, and brilliantly written. You can almost feel the protagonists pain."

I flicked the TV off. Edward Masen. That was _his_ name before he became a vampire. I wanted to believe that this book could be written by _him_, but I doubted that was possible. I couldn't imagine why he would put himself into the spotlight like that.

Still, I felt an unexplainable urge to read the story. I walked by the book everyday; it was in the display window of the bookstore right outside of my loft. There was no picture of the author, nor was there an "about the author" section. The news had reported that he didn't do book signings either.

This morning, I think I might actually buy the book. Who would it hurt? And I could always use something new to read. I would just have to try hard to ignore the name of the man who wrote it.

As I brought the novel to the register to pay, the cashier smiled and began waving the book around. "This is such a good one, I've read it like, four times through already. It's so good! I feel like I'm actually in Edward's place, it's like, so crazy." She reminded me of Jessica Stanley.

I smiled half heartedly at the girl. I handed her the money and left the store. I wasn't working currently – I had more than enough money as it was – so I used the free time to start reading.

I couldn't believe what I was reading. It was like the human version of my own life. In the book, _he_ left the girl named Marie (my middle name!) because she was always in danger around his family. They were in the witness protection program. It went on to describe the pain he felt when he convinced her he didn't love her, and how much it hurt him to leave her. But he thought it was the only way to truly keep her safe.

Then he went to find her five years later, and discovered her grave. If _they_ ever went back to Forks to find me, that's exactly what they would find, too. Reading this story was giving me hope that I shouldn't have. It was the hope that _he_ did still love me, and he had come back for me, but it was too late then. Maybe Edward Masen really was Edward Cullen (I winced as I thought the name).

The internet didn't help much. There was little to no information about Edward Masen. I could only find people saying that he didn't come out much, he didn't like meeting fans, and that the only reason he published the book was because he wanted to release some of the pain he felt for leaving the girl he had loved.

There was one fact I found about him that gave me hope though. He had a big adoptive family. His adoptive father was a doctor and he had four siblings. He described his adoptive mother as the most caring person one could ever meet.

I had to find him. After reading _New Moon_, I got a good glimpse into his mind, and I knew that he still loved me…unless writing this had gotten him through it. But I doubted that; vampires don't change that easily.

Edward was out there, and he loved me. And he thought I was dead. The information that I'd found online said he was living in a small town in Alaska with his family right now.

After spending a little bit of time on the phone with an airline, I had a ticket to Alaska in less than an hour. I threw clothes into a suitcase and took off without a second though. I had to find him.


	2. Fan Mail

**Disclaimer: Twilight is owned by Stephenie Meyer.**

EPOV.

Sighing, I listened as my publishers tried to get me to do a book signing. "Just one? We could do it in your hometown or something!"

"No. I wrote a book, you published it, it's a huge seller, your company made tons of money, just be happy with that." I knew they wouldn't listen.

"Mr. Masen, we ARE happy," a man named Kurt was telling me. "And so are your fans. But can you imagine how sales would sky rocket if you made a public appearance? You can't honestly tell me that you'd rather NOT make all of that money."

"Actually, I can." My family had more than enough money as it is. "I understand that your company, however, can't honestly say that. But there was nothing in our contract saying that I had to make public appearances, and I'm sticking to that. I wouldn't have signed with you if I had known you would do this."

Kurt hesitated. "Are you positive that's what you want Mr. Masen?"

"100 percent," I told him genuinely.

"Alright then. I suppose I'll talk to you at a later time. Have a great afternoon sir." And with that, he hung up.

Alice entered the house then, with a large stack of letters in her arm. "Edwaaard! You have fan mail!" I had only moved back in with my family a matter of weeks ago, and their happiness was already beginning to get to me. Why could they be so happy when I was still so miserable?

"Throw it in the trash, Alice," I muttered under my breath. I knew she still heard me.

"Edward Cullen!" She exclaimed. "These are your FANS! Some of them might even be able to relate to you. Why would you just throw their admiration away?"

I glared at her. "Because it means nothing to me. I didn't write this for them, I wrote it for myself. If they like it, then good for them. But. I. Don't. Care." I annunciated every word of my last sentence carefully.

She sighed and left. She knew better than to argue with me at this point. I heard her wander down stairs and talk to Jasper. I blocked her thoughts out of my mind, and focused on the music that was coming out of my stereo. The CD ended, and it switched to Debussy. I quickly changed it to something less painful to listen to. I thought I had thrown that out.

I heard Alice let out a quick gasp from downstairs, but I continued to ignore her thoughts. Knowing her, she was probably upset about some clothing line's discontinuation.

However, no matter how hard I tried, I could still hear some things she was saying and thinking. I heard the name "Bella" and ran down the staircase at top speed, and was in her face in a second.

I didn't say anything, but she looked up at me sympathetically and whispered a small apology. I wondered outside to a small pasture far enough away that I couldn't hear them anymore. Before I got far enough away, however, I still heard Alice say "But it couldn't be Bella…she died years ago."

"She died years ago." The words haunted me while I laid in the field, desperately trying to forget the pain that ripped through my body. I felt a hole in my chest, as if a piece of my silent heart was missing. I wished again that the Volturi hadn't turned me down and immediately felt guilty. I could never hurt Esme or the rest of my family that way. I already hurt them more than they deserved.

Before I had time to think about what I was doing, I was running. I didn't know where I was going, but I knew that I wouldn't be stopping soon.

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A/N: I was going to write this in Alice's POV, but I wanted to show at least a small part of Edward's pain. Alice's random thoughts of Bella will be explained later. Review for more chapters! :)


	3. The Hospital

**A/N: This is like, a week later. Oh, and the way that Edward gets his mail is through the publishing company. Fans send mail to the company and address it to Edward, then the company ships it to Edward's house.  
**

**BPOV again.**

**Disclaimer: Everything is owned by Stephenie Meyer.**

I had looked for a Cullen in just about every part of Alaska, but none of them were who I was looking for. I sent a letter to Edward the day I left, but I doubt he reads his fan mail.

The letter basically said that I read his book, and I was coming to Alaska to find him. I told him that if he read it, to expect me, and possibly help me out if he could.

It had been nearly a week, and I was having no luck. But I had a new strategy now: I'd been going to hospitals across the state and asking for Dr. Cullen. It's times like these that I'm grateful I don't have to sleep. It gives me so much more time!

The few hospitals that had heard of Carlisle at all said that they didn't know where he was. Except for one.

"Dr. Carlisle Cullen?" The receptionist asked me. I nodded. "Oh, he's such a great man. He's so handsome! But um, I believe he's working in a smaller hospital. It's just a few miles away, but I don't know the name. I can try to get it for you if you'd like."

I told her no thanks, and began my search. The woman talked so much that I knew it would take longer for her to even get around to finding the name of the hospital than it would take for me to find it myself.

The first three hospitals I tried told me the same thing that the other receptionist had. "It's few miles away, but I can't remember the name." Couldn't they get secretaries with better memories?!

_Finally_ I found it. "He's actually in surgery right now. But he's going to be done for the entire night in about twenty minutes if you don't mind waiting," the woman at the desk named Carol informed me.

My stomach was suddenly filled with butterflies. I nodded at her and sat in chair at the desk. I fidgeted in my seat the entire time – picking at a loose string on the chair, flipping through out dated magazines I had no interest in. I was so anxious about this meeting.

After what felt like centuries, Carol paged Carlisle. "Dr. Cullen, you have a visitor in the waiting room. Her name is…" She looked at me expectantly.

"Bella," I told her as I approached the desk.

"Her name is Bella," the secretary said into the phone. With a short gasp, Carlisle said he'd be down in a minute.

I paced the waiting room while I waited. There were no other patients, and Carol seemed used to restless people. I suppose that makes sense considering it is an ER waiting room.

I was facing away from the door when I heard a familiar voice. "Carol, have you seen my father? It's an emergency."

I spun around and saw Alice with her back towards me. "Yes dear, he'll be down in a minute. You're not his only visitor today." Carol smiled in my direction.

Alice gasped. If vampires could faint, Alice would have been on the ground. "Bella?" She asked in a shocked voice.

I nodded weakly, and I heard Jasper's voice coming from outside the door. "Sorry Alice, there weren't a lot of parking spaces, so I had…." His voice trailed off when he saw me standing there.

First, a wave of shock went through my body, followed by calmness. "Thanks Jasper," I whispered with a small smile.

Before Jasper could respond, Alice's arms were around me. "Bella, I can't believe you're here! I was just coming to find Carlisle to tell him about your letter."

"What letter?" Carlisle said from behind us. "Hi Bella!"

At this point, I felt like I was in the middle of a Cullen sandwich. I loved how happy they were to see me. I had been so hurt when they left, but Edward's book brought me so much understanding. It's so much easier to comprehend why they left. I couldn't help but cry as they held on to me.

"Bella?! Why are you crying?" Alice asked me frantically.

"Don't worry, there's nothing but pure joy and love radiating off of her," Jasper informed her before I could get a word in. I smiled at him, but his answering smile looked sad.

"Are you okay Jasper?" I asked him. "Should I not have come? I can leave…" I began inching away from them reluctantly.

Jasper caught my arm. "NO! Why wouldn't we want you back here?"

I shrugged. "I don't know…you just looked sad…"

The sad smile returned to his face. "I'm sorry." He wasn't going to say anything more, but the confused look on my face urged him to continue. "For your birthday. I can't believe I lost control like that…it was unacceptable. And judging by your condition now…it doesn't seem like leaving even did any good."

He felt guilty?! "Jasper! I don't want you to feel guilty! I'm not even going to say I forgive you because there's nothing to forgive. I'm the one that sliced my finger open in front of a bunch of vampires."

The atmosphere got a little awkward, but it only lasted a minute before Alice laughed at me. "So Bella, your taste in fashion has improved! Might that mean you like to shop now?"

She sounded so hopeful, I hated to disappoint her. "Sorry Alice, no I don't." Jasper and Carlisle laughed, but Alice looked disappointed.

"I guess that'll change!" She exclaimed. I doubted it, and I joined in the laughter at that point.

"So, are you going to come back to our house?" Carlisle asked.

My nerves began acting up. I wanted to go back, I wanted to see everyone…but I was anxious.

"Don't worry Bella, everyone will be happy to see you!" Jasper said. Tranquility flowed through me, and I smiled uneasily. Alice opened the door to a blue Ferrari, and I stepped in. Carlisle said he'd meet us there and got into his Mercedes.

Even though we were flying down the road at over 100 miles per hour, the time dragged on at a snail's pace. Soon enough, however, we were at a great white house with a great green lawn. Taking a deep breath, I stepped out of Alice's car.


	4. Home Again

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and all that.**

"Crap," Alice muttered under her breath. I looked at her in shock, and she just shook her head and led me towards the door slowly.

"Esme, Rose, I've missed all of you so much!" An unfamiliar voice was speaking from inside the house. "Where's Edward? Is he still mourning after that human Bella girl?"

I raised my eyebrows at Alice. She knew what I was thinking, and shook her head. Edward had no interest in the girl inside.

We stayed outside for a few moments listening.

"Yes," Rosalie was saying. "He still loves her, and misses her. He always will. I hadn't been able to see how much he loved her before…I feel awful for supporting him in the decision to leave her. He's in such pain now…" Her voice drifted.

Wow. Rosalie wasn't saying anything mean about me? Maybe we'd get along a little better now.

"Well I don't see what he sees in her. Bella Swan was a human for crying out loud. She probably wasn't that pretty. He always wanted to kill her. He left you guys because he couldn't even be around her! And he came to ME. He was too good for her, he still is. I hope she's dead now." Who the hell was this girl?!

Alice opened the door when the rant was over, and the entire family gasped as they saw me. I smiled warmly.

A strawberry blond girl looked towards me. Tanya: I remembered Edward had mentioned her before. "Oh, Esme, you didn't tell me you were having company!" She reached her hand out towards me and introduced herself in a sweet voice with a smile to match. "Hi, my name's Tanya."

I returned the gesture with obvious insincerity. "Bella Swan," I said with a smirk on my face.

She dropped her hand as if I had burnt her.

"Bella?!" Emmett asked. He was quiet…that was a first.

I nodded, and the nerves came back.

"Who did this to you?" Esme spoke now.

"Laurent," I whispered. Emmett hissed, and Tanya was in my face in a minute.

"YOU'RE the one that the wolves killed Laurent to save?" She asked me incredulously. "I can't believe this."

Everyone stared at her uncomprehendingly. "Laurent was Irina's mate," she explained. "I guess you could say she's a little bit upset with the wolves."

I could tell by her tone that she wanted to kill the pack. I growled at her. Sam had stopped morphing into a wolf so that he could live a normal human life with Emily, and Jacob had stepped up to Alpha. He'd be the first one she'd have to go through.

Carlisle stepped in then. His eyes widened at the site of Tanya and me standing in defensive positions next to each other, but he pretended nothing out of the ordinary was happening and bent to kiss Esme softly. I flinched at the affection – It reminded me too much of Edward.

"So Bella, I see you've met Tanya?" Carlisle asked me cautiously.

"Oh yes, we're going to be great friends," Tanya told Carlisle.

"The best," I agreed coldly. She turned on her heel with a huff, and plopped herself down on the couch. She called for Rosalie to come with her, but Rose was too busy hugging me. I didn't see Tanya's expression, but I had a good idea of what she probably looked like.

"Bella!" Rosalie squealed. "I can't believe this happened, and I can't believe you're back! I'm guessing you read Edward's book?" I nodded. "So then you know how sorry I am for how I treated you?" She asked.

I nodded again, this time with a smile. "Don't worry about it Rosalie. I understand."

Then it was Emmett's turn. "I've missed you squirt! I hope you're still clumsy, it's been so BORING these past fifty years!"

When he released me from the tight hug he'd pulled me into, I laughed and shook my head. "Sorry Emmett, I'm not that clumsy anymore."

Esme kissed me on the forehead. "I can't believe this is happening! Our Bella's back," she said, smiling at the thought. "Now we can get the family back together!"

Alice dragged me upstairs, while I looked around everywhere for the last member of the family. The one I desperately needed to see. The one that meant the entire world to me; that I couldn't live without again.

She frowned at me. "I don't know where he is, Bella. He heard me reading your letter and he left. He didn't know what was going on – he just heard me think your name and he was furious. He's coming back, but he hasn't decided when."

I attempted a smile, but it was a vain effort. Alice hugged me yet again and told me everything would be alright. She kept saying we'd find him. I tried to agree, but I kept thinking about what I'd do if we _didn't_ find him. I don't know how I'd be able to go on after giving myself all of this hope.

She stopped in front of a door that I knew was his. The door was closed, but I recognized the scent. It was the same one that still existed in my room after Laurent got to me.

Alice put her hand toward the door knob, but I grabbed her arm. "I can't," I whispered. She nodded in understanding. She seemed to see that I was on the verge of a mental breakdown, and brought me to her room.

As soon as I was through the door, I cracked. Sobs shook through my body and I clutched at my stomach to keep myself in one piece. Alice held on to me until I calmed down.

"I can't even begin to imagine how hard all of this is for you Bella," she began. "But I'll be here as much as you need me. If I ever lost Jasper, I don't know what I'd do with myself. And then after fifty years, for THIS to happen... You're so strong for being able to put up with all of this. Whatever you need, I'll be here. Just ask."

I couldn't help but smile. Alice was the truest of true friends. "I love you Alice," I said.

She smiled immensely at me. "I love you too Bella. It's the greatest feeling in the world to have my sister back."

Emmett barged in the door then. "Bella! Alice! Let's play Twister! Rose and I need more people, and Jasper's trying to get Tanya to calm down," he added with a chuckle. "Plus Bella needs something to do until Edward gets home."

I winced as Emmett said Edward's name, and Alice held onto me so I didn't need to hold myself together.

Emmett realized what happened and joined in the embrace. "Sorry Bella," he said in a low voice, suddenly serious. "I need to think before I talk. I didn't consider how much it must be hurting you right now. I know Alice already said she'd do anything you needed, but you have a big brother here, too!"

Looking for the Cullens was the greatest decision I had ever made. After a few more tearless sobs, I thanked them both earnestly and we went downstairs for some Twister.

* * *

A/N: Normally I leave Tanya out of there things…but I felt the need for some sort of drama, haha. Review for more chapters!


	5. Twister

**A/N: Bella's power in this is just that she has the whole shield thing that she has in Breaking Dawn. I was going to post sooner, but I was watching the Roast of Bob Saget on Comedy Central, hahaha. I couldn't have missed that, of course!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. Stephenie Meyer does.**

Rather than allowing me to walk down the stairs, Emmett thought it would be better to just carry me. I rolled my eyes but didn't object.

Esme was on the couch with the spinner in her hands. Rosalie spread the mat on the floor before grinning at us. "Bella, have you ever played _vampire_ twister before?" She seemed so excited.

I shook my head, which made her smile even wider. "You're gonna LOVE this. Seeing as you weren't the most graceful human, I'm going to assume that you were out of the game pretty quickly. Am I right?" I smiled sheepishly. "I figured," she continued with a laugh. "Well, as vampires, we're obviously way less likely to fall. Plus with our speed, the game's a lot more fun than it is for humans!"

We all laughed and began the game. "Right foot green!" As Esme said this, four feet shot out to random green spots.

"Right hand red!" Four hands now covered four red circles.

The game continued quickly, and even after an hour and a half, no one had fallen. There were arguments, but no fights. According to Carlisle, the lack of fighting was an accomplishment.

Rosalie's head was in my armpit (I was thankful that vampires couldn't sweat at this point), Emmett's leg was across my head, and Alice was a bridge supporting Rosalie's body. My arms were linked with Emmett's and my legs seemed to be braided with everyone else's.

Jasper's and Tanya's voices were heard throughout our game of Twister, but she seemed relatively calm at this point. Jasper was trying to tell her about vampires he thought she'd be compatible with, but she'd apparently met most of them before. I briefly wondered to myself if she'd slept with them, but pushed it out of my mind. I felt bad for being so rude to a stranger. Even if she was a bitch.

Tanya's voice caught our attention now though. "Edward!" Her voice rang out. Everyone on the Twister mat froze and stared at me. I stopped breathing.

"Get away from me Tanya," I heard him growl at her. His voice changed as soon as he heard everyone else's thoughts. "WHAT? No, she isn't. She couldn't be. No, no, no, no!"

I flinched a little bit. Could it really be that bad if I was alive? Rosalie rubbed my back, and Alice giggled. When I raised an eyebrow at her, she smiled innocently. Before I could ask what she'd seen, Edward was standing in the doorway.

He paused for only one second, then he was on his knees with his face in front of mine. Words failed him, and he only touched my face gently. "I'm so sorry Bella," he whispered.

I bit my lip. I wanted to throw myself at him, tell him that I understood and it was fine, and that I was so incredibly happy to be with him again.

"Well this is awkward." Leave it to Emmett to break the silence. We all looked at him, and remembered the uncomfortable positions we were in. Everyone laughed, even Tanya who was standing uneasily by the doorway.

My right hand stretched out towards Edward and he took it instantly. Still smiling, I pulled myself out of the Cullen-knot I had tangled myself into. We all laughed as Alice, Rosalie, and Emmett fell to the ground.

Rather than go into a different room away from the family, we merely stood in each others arms. With my head rested on his chest, I sobbed tearlessly with a huge grin on my face. That is, until Tanya thought she should intervene.

"Edward, aren't you happy to see me?" She pouted. "I come here hoping to see you, and you just want to spend time with _her_?"

Nodding, Edward said "Yes, I do just want to spend time with Bella."

Without as much as a second glimpse, Edward picked me up and brought me to his room. Even though he brought me up here for privacy, we both knew the rest of the family would still be listening to every word we said.

"How?" He asked me simply.

He was staring intently into my eyes and I wormed myself into his side. "How what?" I asked.

"How did you find me? How could you _want_ to find me? How could you find it in your heart to forgive me?"

I smiled at him, and answered him with a question. "How could you be so crazy to think I wouldn't want to find you?"

"You're too good for me," he said. I shook my head, but he continued. "Bella, I need to explain everything to you. I saw and heard everything that's happened since you got here in Alice's mind…but I still don't understand. How could you still possibly love me after everything I've put you through?"

I didn't respond verbally. Instead, I let down my shield and opened my mind up to him. He gasped in shock at first, but I didn't stop. I played through all of my memories of when I first read his book. I let him see everything that went through my mind. This included memories of the pain that I'd felt when he left me, but he wouldn't be able to fully understand why I wanted to come back.

He flinched at the sight of what I looked like during those first few months of being without him. He let out a low growl when Laurent came after me…especially when I didn't object to him killing me. But then Edward saw my resolve to come and find _him_. He watched me go to hospital, after hospital, after hospital asking for Carlisle. He pulled me closer unconsciously the entire time I had my mind open to him.

I slowly became more and more tired, and had to close the connection.

"You're too good for me," he muttered and kissed the top of my head. I brought my mouth to meet his and disagreed with him before pressing my lips to his.


	6. Love

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns the Twilight saga. :)**

"I love you so much Bella," he whispered into my ear.

"I love you too Edward." He pressed his lips back to mine. But of course, our time alone didn't last too long. That's a rarity when everyone living with you has super-hearing, especially when one's a psychic.

"OH MY GOD, FINALLY!" Alice ran into the room shrieking. Edward sighed, but I couldn't help but let a few giggles escape. She was on Edward's bed with the two of us, jumping up and down, and hugging us profusely.

I opened my mind to Edward again for a few moments. "She's insane," I thought. He chuckled and held me closer.

"Go away Alice," he said. Just as he was leaning in to kiss me again, Alice pulled me out of the bed by my arm.

"Oh no, Esme and I need to make preparations!" Alice chirped.

"…For what?" I asked her.

Edward looked just as confused as I did, so I knew he wasn't in on this. "For the wedding, of course!" Alice acted as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Uh…who's wedding are you talking about?"

She rolled her eyes at me. "Yours!"

I raised an eyebrow at Edward, but he was doing the same thing towards Alice. "Alice, are you crazy? This is the first time I've seen Bella in YEARS, and you want to start planning a WEDDING?"

"Well it's obviously going to happen," she huffed.

Edward pulled me back into his chest, and I sighed contentedly. "Not yet Alice. Give us some time." He smiled at her.

Alice couldn't help but smile back. She loved seeing her brother so happy – it was obvious. And she was happy to have her best friend back…her sister. Everything was falling back into place for both the Cullens and myself.

She darted out of the room calling Esme's name, and Edward tilted my head up. He kissed me lightly.

"So she's already planning our wedding?" I asked him.

He tried to fight back the huge grin that was attempting to break through. "Well, she sees the future. She saw ours."

I couldn't help but to smile hugely at this. "She saw us getting married?" I asked as kissed the base of my throat.

"Mhm," he breathed into my neck.

Even though Alice's vision wasn't always perfect, there was no way to doubt that Edward and I would be together forever now. For the first time in three decades, everything was beginning to make sense again.


End file.
